"You have everything?" Leroy asks, trying to blink away the stupid tears that keep coming back up.
Rachel looks around her at the bottom of the staircase and counts the suitcases and - "yeah. Everything's here." She gulps because she hates seeing her father crying. "Dad, please stop crying." Shuffling closer, she embraces the tall man and says, "It's not like I even live here anymore. You've had to watch me go before."
He smiles against her head, she can feel his lips curl and then he kisses her hair. "I know, babygirl. Doesn't make it any easier." He lets her go and gave her a small push away, as if saying the sappiness of the moment is over. "You talk to Quinn today yet?"
"Uh, yeah, you know," she shrugs, and looks down. "We slept over Britt's and Santana's so I got to see her in the morning. I dropped her off at home before coming home to finish packing..."
"Is she coming to the airport?"
"Yes." Rachel is not only ecstatic about the previous night but she is so terribly overwhelmed - she has all these feelings crawling all over her veins and she has no idea what to do with them. The night was perfect, even if in the morning she was a little afraid they did what they did because of what the next day promised.
But fuck it, it's not like she regrets it.
"You okay, kiddo? Leaving?" Her father knows her all too well, and she saw this conversation coming. She actually had expected him to bring it up earlier but his timing is always perfect. He leans against the door that leads to a small bathroom, and she crosses her arms.
She thinks about it - how "okay" she is with leaving and answers honestly. "I think the worst of it will be missing Quinn the most," she sighs exaggeratedly - in a typical Rachel way - and admits. "I feel like this is so unfair, you know - finally finding someone I can be myself with, completely understanding each other, and then... Life."
Leroy chuckles, but not in an amused manner. More like in a way that says he understands just what she means. "I know, Rach. I'm sorry it has to be this way. But you and I are romantics and if it's meant to be, we know it'll work itself out."
She loves her dad for being so supportive and for giving her what she wants to hear, even if she necessarily doesn't know how she feels about it. "And what if it doesn't?" She hears her insecurities ask. "What if we don't work out?"
"You don't really believe that, though," Leroy responds. It's not a specific answer to her specific question, but he's right. She truly thinks they're going to make it. She feels way too involved with Quinn - and Beth, by extension - not to. Since the bank; since she first saw her; heard her voice.
"You're right," she tells him, Determination taking Insecurity by its collar and punching it in the face and away from her mind. She is determined to make it work, no matter what life throws their way. It's not like they don't even have an idea of a plan - they do. They can look forward to those days they get to spend together. "Thank you, dad."
He slightly pushes her again and smirks, "you managed to get the girl. I don't doubt you'll manage to keep her."
Pride swells within her and she purses her lips in a smug moment. She shrugs one shoulder and says, "I did, didn't I? She didn't make it easy though."
"The best ones never do," her dad reminds him. "Now, I'm going to go grab my wallet so we can go pick up Hiram."
"Sure, I'll go ahead and put my stuff in the car," she says as he is walking away from her, toward his bedroom.
He nods as he presses down a few of the piano's keys but tells her, "leave the heavier stuff for me."
When they arrive at Hiram's work to pick him up, he's already tearing up too. He probably worked himself up to where he is. It's not like they're never going to see her again, so she rolls her eyes, but hides it from both her dads not to have to hear a scolding.
